Alexandre Martins talks about the strategic importance of media analytics
Orbiit, an ABES member, was founded by partners who have been working in image auditing for over twenty years, measuring the reach of news in the print media based on meticulous considerations given to vehicles and aspects of journalistic coverage. With the consolidation of online media, the company, launched in 2013, came to offer a new product to the communication segment: media analytics, through a platform that manages to measure the news in pageviews, that is, the audience of each news online, in real time. “This brings an infinitely safer degree of precision to the elaboration of communication strategies for companies”, guarantees director Alexandre Martins, who gave an interview to Portal ABES.
How did the idea of starting a business in the Business Intelligence (BI) segment aimed at the communication segment (media analytics) come about?
As always, the idea arises from necessity. We are meeting a lack of companies in understanding the new communication from the establishment of online media. We – society – are still unraveling this reality in real time. To understand how this influences and transforms public opinion, we have to work with a large amount of accurate data and, of course, use the best BI practices.
How is the receptivity of Orbiit's services in the national market?
It's been very good. The market has been lacking for a long time, especially those that work. Even though we are well-known in the field of corporate communication, we had to complete all the steps to implement this innovation in a very backward market. Large companies, such as Natura, for example, have realized the uses of this technology and are already hiring us. Unimed, Diageo, Itaú Cultural, among other companies and communication agencies, in addition to personas – such as actors, politicians, businessmen and sportsmen – also use the platform. After twenty years of listening to the market, we brought what they always asked for: a precise, agile product (real time), whose results were easy to understand (audience) and at a good price (there is still nothing more competitive in the market).
Can you cite any case carried out and/or the main customers?
Recently, more precisely between July and October 2014, we coordinated the digital communication area (online news and social networks) of the candidacy of Beto Richa (PSDB) to the government of the state of Paraná. It was an innovative experience in electoral campaigns, in the digital world and in communication as a whole. We gather and analyze information about news audiences, the reactions of information on social networks and we also see how this has impacted public opinion in permanent qualitative research. With that, we had very accurate information all the time, in real time. The 'ROI' of this was that we took the candidate with 34% from the voting intentions and elected him in the first round with 55%.
Has the company received any capital contribution from investors?
Not yet. But you are welcome. We have been studying proposals, because we are growing incessantly, mainly by conquering new customers. And, with these, a good growth in the amount of services we can offer from the information generated by the platform (media analytics).
What are the strategies for growth?
There's only one possible strategy to maintain growth: don't stop for even a minute. We are already in the final stages of development of the new version of the software which, in addition to news audiences, will also offer the profile of this audience. That's what the market wants to know and will buy. It's about demand. The good news is that there is still a lot of space in this market, especially with regard to technologies/software.
How do you evaluate the evolution of technologies/software so that Orbiit conquers new customers?
Orbiit wants to collaborate in the conquest of many businesses for all the companies that surround it, even for the distant ones. See, we have exclusive software worldwide, totally open source, with Brazilian 100% development. This makes us very happy because it shows that we have the necessary resources and knowledge to innovate. The permanent development of the platform, adding more relevant information, means that the arrival of new customers does not stop either. With Media Analytics fully running, we are already in the final stage of developing another stage of the work. In addition to measuring news audiences, we will also know the profile of this audience, in detail. This is very relevant information for communication and marketing professionals. It's very significant.
Other considerations you want to add.
A curiosity is that, after twenty years, we are affiliated to Abes and no longer to Abracom (Brazilian Association of Communication Agencies), even though we are still affiliated to Aberje (Brazilian Association of Business Communication).
How did the idea of starting a business in the Business Intelligence (BI) segment aimed at the communication segment (media analytics) come about?
As always, the idea arises from necessity. We are meeting a lack of companies in understanding the new communication from the establishment of online media. We – society – are still unraveling this reality in real time. To understand how this influences and transforms public opinion, we have to work with a large amount of accurate data and, of course, use the best BI practices.
How is the receptivity of Orbiit's services in the national market?
It's been very good. The market has been lacking for a long time, especially those that work. Even though we are well-known in the field of corporate communication, we had to complete all the steps to implement this innovation in a very backward market. Large companies, such as Natura, for example, have realized the uses of this technology and are already hiring us. Unimed, Diageo, Itaú Cultural, among other companies and communication agencies, in addition to personas – such as actors, politicians, businessmen and sportsmen – also use the platform. After twenty years of listening to the market, we brought what they always asked for: a precise, agile product (real time), whose results were easy to understand (audience) and at a good price (there is still nothing more competitive in the market).
Can you cite any case carried out and/or the main customers?
Recently, more precisely between July and October 2014, we coordinated the digital communication area (online news and social networks) of the candidacy of Beto Richa (PSDB) to the government of the state of Paraná. It was an innovative experience in electoral campaigns, in the digital world and in communication as a whole. We gather and analyze information about news audiences, the reactions of information on social networks and we also see how this has impacted public opinion in permanent qualitative research. With that, we had very accurate information all the time, in real time. The 'ROI' of this was that we took the candidate with 34% from the voting intentions and elected him in the first round with 55%.
Has the company received any capital contribution from investors?
Not yet. But you are welcome. We have been studying proposals, because we are growing incessantly, mainly by conquering new customers. And, with these, a good growth in the amount of services we can offer from the information generated by the platform (media analytics).
What are the strategies for growth?
There's only one possible strategy to maintain growth: don't stop for even a minute. We are already in the final stages of development of the new version of the software which, in addition to news audiences, will also offer the profile of this audience. That's what the market wants to know and will buy. It's about demand. The good news is that there is still a lot of space in this market, especially with regard to technologies/software.
How do you evaluate the evolution of technologies/software so that Orbiit conquers new customers?
Orbiit wants to collaborate in the conquest of many businesses for all the companies that surround it, even for the distant ones. See, we have exclusive software worldwide, totally open source, with Brazilian 100% development. This makes us very happy because it shows that we have the necessary resources and knowledge to innovate. The permanent development of the platform, adding more relevant information, means that the arrival of new customers does not stop either. With Media Analytics fully running, we are already in the final stage of developing another stage of the work. In addition to measuring news audiences, we will also know the profile of this audience, in detail. This is very relevant information for communication and marketing professionals. It's very significant.
Other considerations you want to add.
A curiosity is that, after twenty years, we are affiliated to Abes and no longer to Abracom (Brazilian Association of Communication Agencies), even though we are still affiliated to Aberje (Brazilian Association of Business Communication).
Orbit's talents
Alexandre Martins is a journalist, researcher and sociologist. Expert in media image analysis, he has been working in the corporate communication segment for 20 years. He was a business developer at PR Newswire, a partner at MídiaB Comunicação e Software and director of media research at the pioneering Brazilian Institute of Communication Studies (IBEC) and creator of image auditing.
João Abramo is a professional who accumulates solid knowledge in communication and information technology. Senior systems analyst with over 20 years of experience, he was a partner at MídiaB Comunicação e Software and director of technology for Latin America at PR Newswire. He conceived, managed and implemented several complex systems and sites, such as the Environmental Information and Management System of COSIPA, the Excellencies Project, at the Transparência Brasil Organization and the José Bonifácio: Obra Completa website.
José Luciano is a database specialist and is a graduate student in Business Intelligence at Faculdade Impacta. He was technology manager for Latin America at PR Newswire, worked as IT coordinator at Sindescola and worked on social projects such as the Instituto da Qualidade e Formação do Trabalho (IQFT), which aimed to serve the low-income population. With 16 years of experience in technology, he currently works as a specialist, consultant and researcher in the areas of data science and the semantic web.
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